HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead…
Loading...

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead (edition 2013)

by Sheryl Sandberg

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
2,8451164,950 (3.76)59
A lot has changed in her life and in the world since this book was written. Today, in light of what Facebook has become I wonder what kind of real leadership and impact she has and her alignment or not with the company's decisions. Nevertheless, the issues and insights in the book are still relevant. ( )
  Acia | Dec 1, 2020 |
English (112)  French (2)  Japanese (1)  All languages (115)
Showing 1-25 of 112 (next | show all)
Love this book. Wish I had read it 30 years ago. ( )
  GigiB50 | Dec 18, 2023 |
A solid business book. I really liked the stats and personal stories on how Sheryl achieved success and especially who helped her getting where she is now. ( )
  kmaxat | Aug 26, 2023 |
I thought this book was beneath me: I could give an hour lecture on the problems facing the women's right movement today; this book was for women who didn't even know that they're feminists.

For years, as a woman doctor, I shied away from Women in Medicine groups, because having been a female computer scientist and facing the very overt sexism that occurs in the C.S. world, I thought that there was nothing to complain about in medicine. But the further I got in medicine, especially once I had my daughter, I realize all of the subtle ways that its there: the encouragement to leave before you leave; the lack of high-powered female mentors, and the overall relative dearth of women in leadership and highly academic positions. So I joined a national committee on women in medicine and science and at the same time I read this book.

And it's amazing. Sheryl Sandberg gives easy language for the problems I know we face: "sit at the table" for the confidence issues that professional women have; "lean in" and "don't leave before you leave" for the self-selection that occurs. She talks about the seductive message the feminism's work is done that leads to increasing amounts of this subversive sexism (which is the temporal equivalent of the same illusion I fell under switch from C.S. to medicine.) She addresses the hard issues: the linguist quirks that make women seem less confident and the social norms that prevent women from being assertive, both of which put women into a damned if you do/damned if you don't position.

But this is not just a book on contextualization. Sandberg gives concrete advice to women that is useful for women in all fields. She focuses on helping women become top business officers, but its helpful advice to anyone. And she does this without ignoring the importance of being a parent for women who want to parent -- and I think this part gets lost among the rhetoric for a lot of people. One of my close friends hates this book, because she says that Sandberg doesn't believe in the importance of mothering, but that's not a correct assertion. Sandberg spends many pages talking about how she decided to take from 5:30-bedtime off from work (offline, off everything) almost all nights because that's what's right for her family. She talks about a woman who joined the Biden administration but on the condition that she goes home for dinner every single night. This is advice on how to set your priorities and then make them happen -- dropping the hysteria that comes from assuming that in order to be successful, you have to make sacrifices on someone else's terms.

Sandberg makes it clear that you can't "have it all," but you can choose what you get to have, and I think that's the best message possible. ( )
  settingshadow | Aug 19, 2023 |
An easy quick read with some good insights into gender bias, providing work environments that are more accepting of diversity and giving everybody a voice. There are lots of good examples and practical advice. ( )
  gianouts | Jul 5, 2023 |
A book that focuses on gender equality, feminism, empowering women, with some other tips on career advancement/progression. You'll learn:
• Facts and anecdotes to understand why our world is still ruled primarily by men, and why we need more women in top leadership positions to make gender equality a reality;
• The range of external and internal barriers that limit women’s abiity to make real choices in life. These include: gender-related stereotypes, biases, social pressures, lack of organizational support, and women’s own fears and limiting beliefs.
• Specific strategies, approaches, and tips to overcome the obstacles to gender equality, build your career, and equal opportunities for everyone regardless of their gender.

Book Summary at: https://readingraphics.com/book-summary-lean-in-sheryl-sandberg/ ( )
  AngelaLamHF | Jul 4, 2023 |
Marc Benioff gave this to me at Dreamforce 2013 and it's taken me until now to finish it. It has given me pause to look at my own behavior and also think about situations in which I've worked with strong female leaders in the past. It's also provided some backdrop for looking more deeply at the dynamics in my current organization.

I'll be giving it to my eldest daughter (currently 14) and I hope some interesting conversations will arise from it. ( )
  Jeffrey_G | Nov 22, 2022 |
Is Lean In the best thing ever for women or an attempt to sabotage their success? It's neither. Lean In is a book with a target audience. That target audience is not all women or even all working women. The target audience is professional women who are financially secure and want to grow in their career. I believe that many parts of the book have value for those outside that narrow target, but those in the target audience will get the most value of it.

Criticizing the book for not applying to all women or not taking on itself the full burden of feminism is unfair. We don't criticize authors for writing for narrow audiences most of the time, but when the topic is about the choices we make as women, it seems we women are often eager to tear each other apart rather than stepping back and saying, "This isn't for me, but that's okay."

That said, if you're in the target audience, want to be, or interact with women who are in the target audience, whatever your gender, you should read this book.

I went into this book with some trepidation. Sandberg tends to come on strong, and this is a sensitive topic for many women. I once had an opportunity to talk with Sandberg about my career, and I came away impressed but more than a little intimidated.

The book is more gentle, although still passionate. First and foremost, the book is not about telling women that they must sacrifice their families on the altar of career. Far from it. Rather, Sandberg is saying that if you are a woman who is passionate about your career, it is up to you to lean in and resist the cultural and internal pressures that would cause you to, as she puts it "leave before you leave". The gap in career growth between women and men is larger than can be attributed to the amount of time women with careers spend out of the workforce. Women start refusing opportunities to grow because they worry about what will happen when they do have a family.

The heart, in my opinion, of Sandberg's message, is that you'll deal with that when you get there, and often you'll find that if you push yourself toward growth, especially if it's growth in a career or position you are passionate about, you'll find the energy and resources to make the right decisions for you as your life circumstances change.

Although Lean In does not prescribe life choices, it is targeted toward women who want to grow into leadership positions in their careers. This is not because Sandberg discounts other life choices. This is a group that she personally sees as struggling and whom she feels she can help. Or, to put it another way, Sandberg does not think that those who choose other paths, such as being a stay at home mom, are doing anything wrong. However, she does passionately feel that those who choose to give up on their career and would have preferred to not do so are making a huge mistake.

What makes this book so valuable is that Sandberg acknowledges, both through research and personal experience, that the behaviors that hold women back often come from legitimate concerns. A woman who has both children and a high power career is seen in a negative light; a man in the same position is seen positively. A woman who is successful is perceived as less nice (and vice versa); men can be seen as both nice and successful. Women disproportionately take on the work of both house and child care, even when both parents work.

Sandberg offers tips, some small and some large, for dealing with these issues. For example, she points out that women are perceived negatively if they describe their own accomplishments, but if your accomplishments aren't known, they won't be recognized. One group of women leaders she knows got around this by praising each other -- sincerely, yes, but also intentionally. This allowed them to be seen as both nice (they were praising others) and successful (others were praising them). Note that these tips, small and large, are mean to compliment wider scale societal and legal changes to improve the lot of women, both at home and abroad. Sandberg does not want to imply that change is only up to individual women. However, she does make it clear that she believes individuals have an important role to play in their own success.

One of the more controversial claims that Sandberg made is that if a woman wants to have a successful career, she needs to pick a partner who will support her in that desire. Her partner should be someone who is willing to take on a fair proportion of the burden of home life and willing to make life changes to support the woman's career. This partnership should not be one sided; the woman should be supportive of her partner too, as their life circumstances change. However, the woman's partner needs to have the attitude that the woman's career is important. Sandberg makes the important point that many men want to be more involved with their children, but the same pressures that push women out of careers push men out of the home.

Overall, Lean In is about helping women understand their own role in developing their career. Sandberg does not dictate choices, but she does passionately provide guidance to those who want to sit at the table of leadership. ( )
  eri_kars | Jul 10, 2022 |
A good how-to for the somewhat-privileged to use their privilege to grab more privilege. I didn't yell at it as often as I thought I would. ( )
  leahsusan | Mar 26, 2022 |
This is my first book in this genre. Leadership, especially for women. come to think of it this my first book after a very Successful woman in Silicon valley. That. is coming from someone who has read plenty of biographies about men and other self help books ,written mostly by men and about men. That goes on to make the point on why read this book. You don't have to agree with everything what the author says . And there is a chance you are already happy and successful in your career ladder. But , as woman we always have few extra battles to fight no matter the position we are in compared to our peers from opposite. gender. So it makes more sense for us to learn from our predecessors in the industry and stand on their shoulders to reach higher. This books nudges you in that direction.

Read the book and Start sitting in that table. ( )
  RupaliP29 | Feb 11, 2022 |
This book has struck a note with me, coming in the wake of the Women's March. The call to "Lean In" and support my fellow women has never been more evident, not more necessary. Enjoyed the message and I'm so glad to have read it. ( )
  ecb06c | Jan 22, 2022 |
I was pressured into moving this book up my reading list by a friend. She felt like she would have made fewer mistakes in her career if she had read it sooner. I listened to this as an audio book in my car.
Sheryl's writing style works well for an audio book. It sounded almost like she having a personal conversation with her. I read a bit of the criticism of her book long before I actually read the book. I now wonder if the people who were critical actually read the book before they started criticizing it. Her book is written for a particular audience of working women. It does not apply to women who work in career fields that do not have promotion potential. As a childless woman I did not relate to being a mother. There was a lot of the book devoted to children and getting your husband/partner to take a more active role in caring for children and the house. I will acknowledge that sharing household responsibilities is probably a struggle for any couple who both work outside the home. No one wants to do more housework.
I felt her main message was the best way to create more opportunity to make your work life fit around your home life is to put yourself fully into work all the way until you need the accommodation. Being a hard charging success leader will make a company want to work something out to keep you and keep you happy.
I unfortunately did not take away any actionable items from the book. She still comes across as living a charmed life that those of us who grew up in the low to lower middle class do not have the connections and sponsors to ever reach. No amount of leaning in and hard work is ever going to overcome the hurdle of not knowing the kind of people who can and will help me the way she was helped.
( )
  jenniebooknerd | Dec 31, 2021 |
Very interesting read for everyone. I particularly appreciated the tech related aspects. It also feels timely for someone at the cusp of "the real world" where I'll have to interact with gender issues in the workplace. I hope people take note and this improves things. ( )
  nosborm | Oct 10, 2021 |
I started this book about twelve hours ago, but I'm upset that it ended so fast. This is a book I should've read with a notebook and pen next to me, but instead I ravaged through it. There was so much good advice that was not applicable only to women. Even I feel inspired to lean in now.

The most radical thing Sandberg does is reveal all the psychological phenomena that have kept women from reaching leadership roles, and then jacks her theories up with examples and stories of real people. I couldn't help but connect her anecdotes with things my female friends have said to me in the past. The impostor syndrome, for example -- I have a friend who constantly doubts her own abilities, but she emerges with straight As after every semester.

If there's anything to be gleamed from this book, it's that I need to be more assertive. I need to seek out mentors, I need to figure out when I want to do, I need to not be afraid. ( )
  Gadi_Cohen | Sep 22, 2021 |
The book makes many good points on women and leadership and the way they are perceived in addition to the absolute necessity of women standing up for each other.

Mostly anecdotal situation from Sheryl's own life, but given her powerful position in Tech companies like google and facebook, she is an example to be emulated for women wanting to break through in this male-dominated industry. ( )
  moukayedr | Sep 5, 2021 |
While she made some excellent points, it felt like there was a lot of name dropping. I'm not sure that many of her suggestions are that applicable to most women. It is a very good starting point for discussions of the obstacles women can face in the workforce and ways to combat them. ( )
  jmcrown68 | Jul 11, 2021 |
“Professional ambition is expected of men but is optional -- or worse, sometimes even a negative -- for women. ‘She is very ambitious’ is not a compliment in our culture. Aggressive and hard-charging women violate unwritten rules about acceptable social conduct. Men are continually applauded for being ambitious and powerful and successful, but women who display these same traits often pay a social penalty. Female accomplishments come at a cost” (17). ( )
  resoundingjoy | Jan 1, 2021 |
Helped me organize my thoughts about some pretty big questions. I liked how the author backed up her personal ideas with research (she got a social scientist collaborator just for that), but it's still a single POV from a highly privileged woman. I believe that looking at the same ideas from other perspectives will just enrich its message. ( )
  ladyars | Dec 31, 2020 |
A lot has changed in her life and in the world since this book was written. Today, in light of what Facebook has become I wonder what kind of real leadership and impact she has and her alignment or not with the company's decisions. Nevertheless, the issues and insights in the book are still relevant. ( )
  Acia | Dec 1, 2020 |
Por un lado esta bien, los consejos del libro pueden ser aplicados tanto como mujeres como por hombres.
Ademas estoy muy de acuerdo en la premisa principal del libro que es que las mujeres claramente son discriminadas en muchas empresas.

No le doy buena puntuacion sin embargo porque sobre todo la segunda parte del libro parece todo relleno. Posiblemente con leer los primeros capitulos sea suficiente. Tambien como muchos libros de este tipo da detalles de su vida personal que no llevan a ningun sitio y parecen que estar ahi para curar su ego mas que para explicar las premisas principales del libro.

Finalmente aunque ella dice no juzgar, me da la sensacion de que ningunea a quien no sigue su mismo camino. Pienso que otras mujeres pueden encontrar su propia realizacion personal sin necesidad de usar sus mejores energias y tiempo intentando "lean in" una empresa.
( )
  trusmis | Nov 28, 2020 |
Sheryl Sandberg eloquently details why everyone should question the status quo, and how we can all facilitate career progression for women, not just for the sole benefit of having women in positions of power, but also in order to benefit corporate America as a whole. Her prose is insightful, encouraging and at times exciting. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in promoting the equality of the sexes for everyone. ( )
  Absolution13 | Oct 6, 2020 |
Are there issues with this book? Yes. However, the "sit at the table" & "don't leave before you leave" content matched my experiences and have helped me be more mindful. It was also good to have a frank discussion about imposter syndrome & feminism. ( )
  Chris.Bulin | Oct 1, 2020 |
I just want to say to the people complaining that this woman is writing from a place of privilege - Shut Up. No seriously, shut up. She's writing this because she is calling others to join her there, so yeah, she has a nanny, money, and opportunities. That is the entire point. She wants you to join her there, asap. You'll have to excuse her for having the things you don't, and wishing that you would get up there with her already so you could have them if you wanted as well.

Now that I've said that, this is a great book for anyone trying to figure out how to keep their head up in a world where men walk around with true privilege and are absolutely blind to this fact. With that in mind it can be a reading for anyone who is a minority in their field. While I have no desire to be a CEO, I am struggling to find what a/ I want to do in the world and b/ what opportunities are actually open to me. This book inspired me to remember that I am capable of a lot more than what I think. It's relatively short as well which means I can go back to read it when I need a pick me up and it also avoids a lot of the "let me repeat the same thing ad nauseum so you think you bought a bigger book". ( )
  lclclauren | Sep 12, 2020 |
Such a relevant message. We all have to bring to our consciousness and acknowledge our stereotypes and biases.. "accept and transcend them" as Sandberg puts. Really clearly written, and such a short book too! Time to be active about driving change. ( )
  bsmashers | Aug 1, 2020 |
Our book club selected to read Lean In: women, work and the will to lead by Sheryl Sandberg (CEO of Facebook). It is a book you might consider only intended for women in the corporate world but I am pleasantly surprised and hope I continue to be as I finish reading it. I am only about 20% into the book. I was worried when I began reading it because it seemed she was blaming everyone and everything else for women's inequality and I have always disliked the attitude of blaming others (especially men) for what we think we deserve.

I then was thrilled when the tone of book took a whole different turn and she eloquently began showing how we as women are our own worse enemy and greatest critic - but she makes it not a battle to shift the mindset but she easily guides us to undistort the distortion (her quote).

I think this would be a powerful book for any woman to read whether they are in the corporate world or not. I think this should be required reading for every high school senior (woman of course).

I don't think it is one that every word and paragraph must be read, I have skimmed parts of it already but there are great gems lying in wait for you to discover. ( )
  Jolene.M | Jul 30, 2020 |
To the point commentary on why women need to help each other ( )
  avonar | May 27, 2020 |
Showing 1-25 of 112 (next | show all)

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.76)
0.5
1 8
1.5
2 49
2.5 5
3 142
3.5 21
4 250
4.5 21
5 123

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,238,972 books! | Top bar: Always visible